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CIRCULAR

Guiding the implementation of the Regulation on issuance and management of apec business travel cards under the Prime Minister's decision no. 45/2006/QD-TTG of February 28, 2006

Pursuant the Prime Minister's Decision No. 45/2006/QD-TTg of February 28, 2006, promulgating the Regulation on issuance and management of APEC business travel cards (hereinafter referred to as the Regulation for short); after consulting and reaching agreement with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Trade, the Ministry of Public Security hereby guides the implementation of the Regulation as follows:

I. ON GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. For persons defined in Article 6 of the Regulation (hereinafter collectively referred to as Vietnamese business people):

a/ APEC business travel cards (hereinafter abbreviated to ABTCs) issued to Vietnamese business people shall be valid for three years. When the passport of a business person remains valid for less than three years, the valid term of the to be-issued ABTC shall be equivalent to that of the passport.

b/ Vietnamese business people holding valid ABTCs shall be allowed to enter APEC member countries and territories participating in the ABTC Scheme named in their ABTCs; and upon entry or exit, they must produce their valid passports according to regulations of such participating countries or territories.

c/ ABTCs that are reported by business people as having been lost shall be revoked and shall not be restored (even when they are found). If such business people wish to continue using ABTCs, they shall have to fill in procedures of application for new cards.

2. For business people of participating countries and territories (hereinafter referred to as foreign business people): If having valid passports and holding valid ABTCs which list Vietnam as a country of destination, they shall be permitted to enter and exit Vietnam though its international border gates.

II. ON THE ISSUANCE OF ABTCs TO VIETNAMESE BUSINESS PEOPLE

1. Vietnamese business people shall submit dossiers of application for ABTCs to the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security, each comprising:

a/ An application for the ABTC (made according to a form set by the Immigration Department), certified by the head of the enterprise or the agency directly managing the business person.

b/ Four 3 x 4 cm photographs of white background showing the photographed person looking straight and bareheaded (one photograph stuck on the application and affixed with the seal of the enterprise or the agency directly managing the businessperson and three enclosed photographs).

c/ A written permission for use of the ABTC from a competent person, who is:

- The Prime Minister, for business people appointed or directly managed by the Prime Minister;

- The head of an agency of ministerial or equivalent level, for business people appointed by heads of agencies of ministerial or equivalent level and business people working in enterprises set up under decisions of, or directly managed by, agencies of ministerial or equivalent level.

- The president of a provincial-level People's Committee, for business people appointed by presidents of provincial-level People's Committees and business people working in enterprises set up under decisions of, or directly managed by, presidents of provincial-level People's Committees.

2. When submitting dossiers of application for ABTCs, business people must produce their valid passports. Where other cadres or employees are assigned to submit dossiers and receive ABTCs on behalf of business people, they must produce papers of introduction issued by their agencies or enterprises, their people identity cards and the passports of the ABTC applicants.

3. Order of, and time limit for, consideration of the issuance of ABTCs:

a/ Within three working days after receiving valid dossiers of application for ABTCs, the Immigration Department shall exchange personal data about the applicants with competent authorities of participating countries and territories.

b/ Under regulations of the ABTC Scheme, the time limit for participating countries and territories to consider and reply (to issue or not issue the cards) is 21 days from the date of exchanging personal data with the Immigration Department. Therefore, at the end of the time limit of 21 days, the Immigration Department shall issue ABTCs to business people, even when it has not yet received replies from all participating countries and territories.

c/ The Immigration Department may issue ABTCs before the expiration of the time limit of 21 days in the following cases:

- When it has received replies from all participating countries and territories; or

- When it has received the consents from several participating countries and territories and the business people send their written requests for the issuance of ABTCs before receiving the receipt of replies from all participating countries and territories.

4. When issuing ABTCs, the Immigration Department shall inscribe on such cards the names of participating countries and territories that have consented on the issuance of ABTCs to business people.

III. ON THE CONSIDERATION OF PERSONNEL DATA AND THE ENTRY, EXIT AND RESIDENCE OF FOREIGN BUSINESS PEOPLE

1. Foreign business people who apply for consideration for issuance of ABTCs by Vietnam must have their personal data exchanged between competent agencies of the participating countries or territories of which they are citizens and the Immigration Department of the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security. Personal data include: full name, gender, date of birth, nationality, position or profession, and number and expiry date of the passport.

Business people being citizens of non-APEC countries or of APEC member countries or territories, which have not yet participated in the ABTC Scheme, may also be considered for issuance of ABTCs, if they have valid Hong Kong (China) permanent residence cards. In this case, apart from the aforesaid personal data, business people are required to supply the numbers of their Hong Kong permanent residence cards.

2. When entering Vietnam, holders of valid ABTCs and passports shall be granted by the entry and exit management agency at Vietnamese international border gates certificates of stay for 90 days for each entry. When the passport of a foreign business person remains valid for under 120 days, the period of stay under the granted certificate shall be 30 days shorter than the remaining term of the passport. Where the remaining term of the ABTC is shorter than 90 days, the period of stay under the granted certificate shall be as long as the remaining term of the ABTC.

3. When foreign business people lose their ABTCs in Vietnam, during the period of stay permitted by the entry and exit management agency, they shall have to notify the loss to the Immigration Department and representative missions of the participating countries or territories of which they are citizens. After reporting on the loss of their ABTCs, business people may exit Vietnam with their valid passports.

When foreign business people lose their passports and ABTCs, apart from reporting on the loss according to the aforesaid provisions, they shall request representative missions of participating countries or territories of which they are citizens to re-grant passports or passport-substituting papers, then fill in procedures to request the Immigration Department to grant stay certificates. Upon exit, they shall produce these certificates to the entry and exit management agencies at the border gates.

This Circular shall take effect 15 days after its publication in "CONG BAO."